Temporary covering for a window

ABSTRACT

Provided is a temporary covering for a window comprising a foldable slat assembly including a top having an adhesive to be attached to a window, a plurality of foldable slats disposed under the top wherein either side of each slat comprises an opening and the openings are aligned, and a bottom adapted to unfold and position the slat assembly in a fully folded one, a fully extended one, or an intermediate one therebetween; and two locking mechanisms each mounted in either side of the slat assembly. Each locking mechanism is adapted to insert through the openings of a selected number of slats and lock the same, thereby determining an area of the window covered by the slat assembly.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to curtains and more particularly to atemporary covering for a window in which the covering is adapted toeither raise or lower by operating two locking mechanisms so as tochoose a desired length of a foldable slat assembly hanged over awindow.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Conventionally, curtains, draperies, or blinds are mounted on windows,sliding doors, or the like. Typically, there is no furniture and even nocurtains and/or blinds for a new home or an apartment to be rented.Draperies are not cheap and are typically bought for long time usepurpose. Thus, a new homeowner or renter may take a considerable periodof time to acquire draperies for installation. In another aspect,draperies are varied in its texture, type, color, etc. Thus, choosing adesired drapery may take more than one week for a careful person. Inother words, there is no covering for window for the period of timebetween taking possession of an apartment or home and the installationof permanent draperies.

Moreover, washing or replacement of a drapery may be needed after aperiod of time of use. As such, there is no window covering during thisperiod of time, i.e., no privacy for persons living in the home orapartment.

It has been suggested to install a temporary covering at a window inwhich the covering is adapted to either raise to let in light or lookthrough or lower to limit view therethrough. A prior patent disclosessuch suggestion is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,913,655 to Ogino. Thepatented temporary drapery assembly comprises a sheet of draperymaterial and a pair of stiffening strips mounted on top and bottom ofthe sheet of drapery material respectively. Also, a cord is threadedthrough bores of the strips and openings of the sheet of draperymaterial at either side of the temporary drapery assembly. A person mayeither raise or lower the foldable drapery assembly by pulling orletting down the sheet of drapery material respectively. Such raisingand lowering means is advantageous. However, forming of the bores andopenings and running the cords therethrough may inevitably increase themanufacturing cost. Thus, the need for improvement still exists.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a temporary coveringfor a window comprising a foldable slat assembly including a topincluding a removable strip of paper and an adhesive disposed under thestrip of paper such that removal of the strip of paper will enable anattachment of the exposed adhesive to a window or window frame, aplurality of slats disposed under the top wherein the slats are formedof a combination of opaque material and paper coated with a resilientmaterial, one slat is adapted to fold onto an immediately lower one, andeither side of each slat comprises an opening wherein the openings arealigned, and a bottom adapted to extend downward from the top due toweight of the slats and adapted to unfold and position the slat assemblyin a fully folded one, a fully extended one, or an intermediate onetherebetween; and two locking mechanisms each mounted in either side ofthe slat assembly, wherein each locking mechanism is adapted to insertthrough the openings of a selected number of slats and lock the same,thereby determining an area of the window covered by the slat assembly.

In one aspect of the present invention, the covering is folded prior tostoring in a box formed of cardboard for ease of carrying.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will become apparent from the following detailed descriptiontaken with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of temporarycovering for a window according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the covering being partially extended;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the covering being fully extended;

FIGS. 4 and 5 are cross-sectional views of the covering as attached totop of a window frame and underside of a beam respectively;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of lower portion of slat assemblylocked by a locking mechanism;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the locking mechanism; and

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view the locking mechanism.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, there is shown a temporary covering 10 inaccordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention. The covering 10comprises a foldable slat assembly 11 including a top 12, a bottom 13,and a plurality of rectangular slats 14 disposed under the top 12 inwhich one slat 14 is folded onto an immediately lower one (see FIG. 1).A slat 14 is defined by two adjacent creases, a left side edge 15, and aright side edge 16. The slat 14 is formed of a combination of opaquematerial and paper. Preferably, a resilient material is formed on theslats 14 such that the slats 14 can have a limited extent of resiliencefor facilitating raising or lowering thereof.

An adhesive 20 is coated on the top 12 such that the slat assembly 11can be attached to window or window frame. The adhesive 20 is coveredinitially with a removable strip of paper 21 having a free lower face 22which may be waxed or otherwise coated for easy removal for exposing anadhesive surface 23 of adhesive 20 without disturbing the adhesive 20prior to attaching the slat assembly 11 to a window frame (see arrow inFIG. 3).

As shown in FIG. 1, the covering 10 is folded in a storage state orprior to purchase. The folded covering 10 can be stored in a box formedof cardboard for easy carrying.

As shown in FIG. 2, bottom 13 of the slat assembly 11 can be extendedfrom top 12 by pulling. The slats 14 of the slat assembly 11 are fullyextended due to its own weight when the covering 10 is mounted on awindow frame. The slat assembly 11 can be positioned as a fully foldedone (see FIG. 1), a fully extended one (see FIG. 3), or an intermediateone therebetween. An opening 17 is provided proximate either side edge15 or 16 of each slat 14. A locking mechanism 30 is adapted to threadthrough the openings 17 such that a person may, for example, thread thelocking mechanism 30 through a desired number of slats 14 and then lockthe locking mechanism 30 for adjusting length of folded portion of theslat assembly 11 or the covering 10 as detailed later.

As shown in FIG. 3, in a fully extended state of the slat assembly 11the slats 14 are adapted to stop letting in light or looking through.Otherwise (i.e., no installation of the temporary covering 10) lightwill enter a house through the glass of window. As such, internaltemperature of the house is increased. People staying in the house thusmay feel a lack of comfort. Moreover, furniture, books, newspapers,magazines, painted things, etc. may be damaged or fade by the sunlightafter a period of time.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the covering 10 can be attached to top of awindow frame 40 and underside of a beam 41 respectively by adhering theadhesive surface 23 of the adhesive 20 thereto. In this position,privacy can be protected and view through a window 40 is limited.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the locking mechanism 30 comprises a base 31and a cap 32. A post 33 is projected from the base 31 to be insertedinto a through hole 34 in the cap 32. A flexible spherical member 35 isformed on a top of the post 33. A longitudinal slit 37 is formed in thespherical member 35.

As shown in FIG. 8, within the hole 34 there are provided an innerchannel 39 and a shoulder 38 joined the channel 39 and the hole 34. Thechannel 39 has a diameter smaller than that of the spherical member 35.The hole 34 has a diameter larger than that of the spherical member 35.As a result, the spherical member 35 is free to rotate in the hole 34after passing the channel 39 to dispose therein as detailed later.

A user may press the cap 32 onto the post 33 on the base 31 forinserting the spherical member 35 through the channel 39 into the hole34 for disposing therein. The spherical member 35 is flexibly compressedtoward its center slit 37 (i.e., diameter decreased) during theinsertion. As an end, the spherical member 35 is adapted to insertthrough the channel 39 into the hole 34 for disposing therein. That is,the cap 32 is secured to the post 33 on the base 31. Moreover, a cord 36is formed to interconnect the cap 32 and the base 31. The provision ofthe cord 36 can facilitate the storage and use of the locking mechanism30.

For choosing a desired length of the covering 10 hanged over a window, auser may insert the post 33 on the base 31 through the opening 17 at thebottom 13 and the openings 17 of a desired number of slats 14 thereover.That is, the slats 14 are put on the post 33. Finally, press the cap 32onto the post 33 for defining the number of slats 14 between the cap 32and the base 31. As an end, the purpose of choosing a desired length ofthe covering 10 (i.e., the slat assembly 11) hanged over the window isachieved.

In brief, the invention employs two locking mechanisms for enabling aperson to choose a desired length of a slat assembly of a temporarycovering hanged over a window. Thus, there is no need for a newhomeowner or renter to worry a lack of privacy while living therein dueto no installation of permanent draperies initially.

While the invention herein disclosed has been described by means ofspecific embodiments, numerous modifications and variations could bemade thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from thescope and spirit of the invention set forth in the claims.

1. A temporary covering for a window comprising: a foldable slat assembly including a top, a bottom, and a plurality of slats disposed under the top wherein one slat is adapted to fold onto an immediately lower one, the top is attached to a flat surface, the bottom is adapted to extend downward from the top, either side of each slat comprises an opening, and the openings are aligned; and two locking mechanisms each mounted in either side of the slat assembly, each locking mechanism comprising a base, a post projected from the base, the post including a flexible spherical member formed on its top, and a cap including a longitudinal through hole, the through hole including an inner channel and a shoulder joined the channel and the through hole, wherein in response to inserting the post through the openings into the cap the spherical member is compressed to pass the channel into the through hole for locking a selected number of slats between the cap and the base and determining an area of the window covered by the slat assembly.
 2. The temporary covering of claim 1, wherein the slat is formed of a combination of opaque material and paper having a sufficient elasticity such that the slats are adapted to have a resilience for facilitating raising or lowering thereof.
 3. The temporary covering of claim 2, wherein the paper is coated with a resilient material.
 4. The temporary covering of claim 1, wherein the spherical member comprises a longitudinal slit formed therein.
 5. The temporary covering of claim 1, wherein the spherical member is adapted to rotate freely in the through hole.
 6. The temporary covering of claim 1, further comprising a cord interconnected the cap and the base.
 7. The temporary covering of claim 1, further comprising an adhesive formed on the top of the slat assembly, the adhesive including a removable strip of paper having a free lower face, and an adhesive surface engaged with the lower face such that removal of the strip of paper to expose the adhesive surface will enable an attachment of the adhesive to the flat surface. 